Jocko And The Trapeze Lady
Kingston Trio

D**k Feller


He was a boy when the circus first came to the dust of his West Texas town.

And twenty years later, he'd spent twenty years as Jocko the Sad Circus Clown.

He did slap-stick gags in grease paint and rags and the people would laugh 'til they cried.

But they never saw past the painted clown mask to the sad, empty man locked inside.


The trapeze lady swung easy and gracefully, high in the high trapeze swing.

Her parents were flyers. The circus was her life. The carny was deep in her veins.

High in the spotlights in sequins and pink tights, she flew like a bird in the wind.

The saw dust's on daughter, the strong men who caught her were all that she brought to her tent.


Jocko worked down with the center ring clowns with a sad painted smile on his face

And the trapeze lady swung easy and gracefully high in the great canvas space.

Jocko looked up with a tear in his heart and, Lord, he wished he could fly

For she never looked down at a baggy pants clown who looked up with love in his eyes.


It was Tulsa, the last stop, the last show of the big top, a loud, sell-out crowd filled the seats.

They clapped for the walk-around and cheered for the clowns. The fliers brought them to their feet.

Then a still half-lit match fell in tender dry grass and soon found the dry saw dust floor.

The flames leaped higher. When the people heard, Fire! they swept like a wave for the door.


Jocko looked up to the top of the tent and a hundred feet from the ground

Swung the trapeze lady, up on the high swing, alone, with no way to get down.

He ran to the ladder that led to the platform, she cried, Jocko, no! There's no time!

But her quick word of fear fell deaf on love's ear as slowly he started to climb.


Hand over hand to the high flier's stand, taking the rope that hung there

With one quick look down, the sad circus clown looked up and took to the air.

Slow then slowly he started to swing, his eyes turned to tears in the smoke.

Faster then faster and as he swung past her, her strong flier hands found the rope.


She slipped to the ground as the flames found the rigging and licked at the rope that he held.

He'd started below when the rigging let go and down to the saw dust he fell.

She ran to his side and with tears in her eyes, Oh, no! Jocko, why? she cried.

He raised his sad head. I loved you, he said and he closed his eyes and he died.


Now, the trapeze lady swings easy and gracefully high in the great canvass space.

But a place and a time are still etched in her mind of a smile painted on a sad face.

And she sometimes looks down to the center ring clowns for someone she never has found.

For she still remembers the time when love came to her wearing the face of a clown.


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Lyrics by Kingston Trio

  'Round About the Mountain   \   500 Miles   A Little Soul Is Born   A Rollin' Stone   A Round About Christmas   A Round About Christmas (Please Put A Penny In The...   A Taste Of Honey   A Worried Man   Across The Wide Missouri   Adieu To My Island   Adios Farewell   Ah, Woe, Ah, Me   All My Sorrows   All The Good Times   All Through The Night   Allentown Jail   Ally Ally Oxen Free   Ann   Anne Boleyn   Around About Christmas   Aspen Gold   Away Rio   Babe, You've Been On My Mind   Babe, You've Been On My Mind   Bad Man Blunder   Bad Man's Blunder   Ballad Of The Quiet Fighter   Ballad Of The Thresher   Banua   Bay Of Mexico   Big Ball In Boston   Big Ball In Town   Big Ship Glory   Billy Goat Hill   Bimini   Blow The Candle Out   Blow Ye Winds   Blowin' in the Wind   Blowin' In The Wind   Blue Eyed Gal   Blue Tattoo   Bonny Hielan' Laddie   Bonny Hielan' Laddie   Bottle Of Wine   Brown Mountain Light   Buddy Better Get On Down The Line   Bye Bye Thou Little Child   Bye, Bye, Thou Little Tiny Child   C'mon Betty Home   C'mon Betty Home   Carrier Pigeon   Children Of The Morning   Chilly Winds   Coal Tattoo   Coast Of California   Colorado Trail   Colours   Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies   Come Along, Julie   Come Gather The Time   Coming From The Mountains   Como Se Viene, Se Va   Coo Coo U   Coplas   Coplas Revisited   Corey, Corey   Cortelia Clark   Dancing The Distance   Darlin' Are You Dreaming   Darlin' Are You Dreaming   Deportee   Desert Pete   Dogie's Lament   Dogie's Lament   Don't Cry Katie   Don't You Weep Mary   Don't Cry Katie   Don't You Weep Mary   Dooley   Dorie   E Inu Tatou E   Early in the Mornin'   Early In The Mornin'   Early Morning Rain   Easy To Arrange   El Matador   En El Agua   Everglades   Fairwell Captain   Farewell   Farewell Adelita   Farewell Captain   Fast Freight   Folksinger's Song   Folksinger's Song   Follow Now, O Shepherds   Four Strong Winds   Gaze On Other Heavens   Genny Glenn   Georgia Stockade   Getaway John   Glorious Kingdom   Go Tell It On The Mountain   Go Tell Roger   Go Where I Send Thee   Goin' Away for to Leave You   Goin' Away For To Leave You   Gonna Go Down The River   Goo Ga Gee   Goober Peas   Good News   Goodnight Irene   Goodnight, My Baby   Gotta Travel On   Grandma's Feather Bed   Green Grasses   Greenback Dollar   Guardo El Lobo   Gue Gue   Gypsy Rose And I Don't Give A Curse   Gypsy Rose And I Don't Give A Curse   Hangman   Hanna Lee   Hard Travelin'   Hard, Ain't It Hard   Hard, Ain't It Hard   Haul Away   Hawaiian Night   High Heeled Shoes   Hit And Run   Hobo's Lullaby   Hobo's Lullaby   Home From The Hill   Honey, Are You Mad At Your Man?   Hope You Understand   I Bawled   I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound   I Can't Help But Wonder Where I'm Bound   I Like To Hear The Rain   I'm A Rake And Rambin' Boy   I'm Going Home   I'm A Rake And Ramblin' Boy   I'm Going Home   If I Had A Ship   If You Don't Look Around   If You Don't Look Around   If You See Me Go   Inter Changeable Love   Isle In The Water   It Was A Very Good Year   It Was Very Good Year   Jackson   Jane, Jane, Jane   Jesse James   Just Once Around The Clock   Karu   La Bamba   Laredo   Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream   Last Thing On My Mind   Leave My Woman Alone   Lei Pakalana   Lemon Tree   Less Of Me   Let's Get Together   Let's Get Together   Lion In The Winter   Little Boy   Little Light   Little Maggie   Little Play Soldiers   Lock All The Windows   Long Black Veil   Long Time Blues   Longest Beer Of The Night   Looking For The Sunshine   Love Comes A-Trickling Down   Love Has Gone   Love's Been Good to Me   Love's Been Good To Me   Low Bridge   M.T.A.   Mangwani Mpulele   Marcelle Vahine   Marktwain   Mary Mild   Mary Was Pretty   Medley: Tanga Tika/toerau   Medley: Tanga Tika\/Toerau   Merry Minuet   Midnight Special   Molly Dee   More Poems   My Lord What a Mornin'   My Lord What A Mornin'   My Ramblin' Boy   My Ramblin' Boy   Nellie   New York Girls   No One To Talk My Troubles To   Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)   Nothing More To Look Forward To   O Ken Karanga   O Willow Waly   Oh, Cindy   Oh, Miss Mary   Oh, Sail Away   Oh, Yes, Oh   Old Joe Clark   Old Joe Hannah   Old Kentucky Land   Oleanna   One More Round   One More Town   One Too Many Mornings   Parchment Farm Blues   Pastures Of Plenty   Patriot Game   Pay Me My Money Down   Poor Ellen Smith   Portland Town   Poverty Hill   Pullin' Away   Pullin' Away   Put Your Money Away   Raspberries, Strawberries   Razors In The Air   Red River Shore   Remember The Alamo   Reuben James   Reverend Mr. Black   Rider   River Run Down   Road To Freedom   Rocky   Rollin' Stone   Rollin' Stone   Rolling River   Roving Gambler/this Train   Roving Gambler\/This Train   Ruby Red   Ruby Red Ruby Red   Run Molly, Run   Run The Ridges   Runaway Song   Running Out Of Tomorrow   Rusing in the Rain   Sail Away, Ladies   Sally, Don't You Grieve   Salty Dog   San Miguel   Santo Anno   Santy Anno   Saro Jane   Scarlet Ribbons   Scotch And Soda   Sea Fever   Seasons in the Sun   Senora   Shady Grove/Lonesome Traveller   Shady Grove\/Lonesome Traveller   She Was Too Good To Me   Sing Out   Sing We Noel   Sinking of the Reuben James   Sloop John B   Sloop John B.   So Hi   Some Fool Made a Soldier of Me   Someday Soon   Somerset Cloucestershire Wassail   Somerset Gloucestershire Wassail   Sometimes Love Is Better When It's Gone   Song for a Friend   South Coast   South Wind   Speckled Roan   Spinnin' of the World   Stay Awhile   Stories of Old   Strange Day   Take Her Out of Pity   Tattooed Lady   Texas Across The Tiver   The Ballad of the Shape of Things   The Escape of John Webb   The First Time   The Golden Spike   The Hunter   The Jug Of Punch   The Last Month Of The Year   The Lion Sleeps Tonight   The Long Black Rifle   The Merry Minuet   The Mountains O'Mourne   The New Frontier   The Seine   The Shape of Things   The Sloop John B   The Streets of Laredo   The Tattoed Lady   The Unfortunate Miss Bailey   The Unfortunate Miss Baily   The Wagoner's Lad   The Wanderer   The Way Old Friends Do   The White Snows Of Winter   The Wines Of Madeira   The Work Song   The World Needs A Melody   The World's Last Authentic Playboys   Them Poems   These Seven Men   They Are Gone   They Call the Wind Maria   Thirsty Boots   This Land Is Your Land   This Mornin', This Evenin', So Soon   Those Brown Eyes   Those Who Are Wise   Three Jolly Coachmen   Three Song   Tic, Tic, Tic   Tnaga Tika   To Be Redeemed   To Morrow   Tom Dooley   Tomorrow Is A Long Time   Try To Remember   Turn Around   Two-Ten, Six-Eighteen   Uta Wena   Verandah Of Millium August   Walkin' This Road To My Town   Watsha   We Wish You A Merry Christmas   Weeping Willow   When I Was Young   When My Love Was Here   When the Saints Go Marching In   When You've Been Away for a Long Time   Where Are You Going Little Boy?   Where Have All the Flowers Gone   Where Have All The Flowers Gone?   Whistling Gypsy   Who's Gonna Hold Her Hand   Will You Love Me If I Don't Do Coke?   Wimoweh   With Her Head Tucked Underneath Her Arm   With You My Johnny   World I Used To Know   Yes I Can Feel It   You Don't Knock   You're Gonna Miss Me   Young Roddy Mccorley   Zombie Jamboree

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